Animorphs: Into Exandria
by 117Jorn
Summary: Jaden was once the Seventh member of the Animorphs until he and his family moved after the Sairo Rip in the Amazon - but when given the chance to rejoin his friends, Jaden sacrifices himself to stop the Yeerks plans... but he is saved by Crayak - who claims him, and to repay his debt he is sent to a new world to find 'something' for him. And it is here that he finds... Vox Machina.
1. Prologue

**117Jorn: So… bit of background for this. **

**Authors Note: So we are all on the same page, this story begins with the hypothetical scenario within Alteranimorphs #1: The First Journey, where there is an extra Animorph member that attends the events of Books #1 and #11. Just made a few adjustments here and there and there we go. Now, you may not understand this story unless you've watched the "Critical Roll" series of D&D on Youtube & Twitch so I highly suggest checking them out. **

**Also, to clarify a few adjustments to the Animorphs canon: In this fic, I am changing it so the Animorphs in general were not children when they discovered the morphing cube in Middle School, and are more like in High School now, and are close to a 16-19 age group. **

**So without further delay… let's begin. **

My name is Jaden.

I could give you my last name, but… I prefer it that we stay on a first-name basis for now. Trust is hard to come by these days, so the less critical info I leak out, the better.

Now I am certain that you know the story so far - the story of my friends, the Animorphs. A bunch of teenagers with a death wish as we face off against an entire invading force of brain-stealing slugs from across the galaxy, and how thanks to Elfangor we gained the ability to morph - to become virtually any living creature we can touch, and use their power to fight against them.

You know most of my friends - Jake, the fearless leader of our merry little band of misfits. Rachel, or 'Xena: Warrior Princess' as she is annoyingly called by Marco - the residential comedian and realist, Cassie our animal expert, Tobias the Hawk-boy, and Ax the Andalite. I was there when Elfangor gave us his gift - the ability to morph, and I was there through the thick of it.

Well… most of it.

Believe me, if the choice were mine I would've stayed with them through the thick of it - I was there since the beginning, all the way up to our little… _safari_ in the Amazon with that Sairo Rip nonsense.

Then one day… my parents decided to move.

I mean, its not something I wanted, but it was something I knew was a possibility. My father was an officer in the U.S Military, so its no surprise that I have to move around a lot. But moving to another seaboard… its not something you want when in my shoes. Its not like I could walk up to my dad and say 'hey dad, aliens are invading and I'm part of the resistance. Can we stay here please?'.

Yeah that wouldn't end so well - not to mention I _still_ wasn't sure if anyone in my family were controllers. I mean, I _felt_ like if they were I'd know, but even Jake didn't realize his own brother was a lieutenant in the Yeerks forces. It'd be WAY too dangerous to tell them anything.

So… I said my goodbyes, we moved… and here we are, new home, thousands of miles from the world I used to know.

But I sure as hell wasn't being complacent.

Sure I was a long way away from the rest of the crew - but that didn't mean we were… _disconnected_. It's one of the pro's of having a race of robotic dogs as friends - they help send messages, and _so_ many other things. The Chee were certain to make sure one of their own moved with me and my family to set things up… among other things.

The Chee Network, or 'Chee Net' as we've come to call it, is how all the Chee stayed connected to one another in one way, shape or form. Kinda like their own version of the Internet. A Chee relocated to a building close to where I live, and I just report to him when I want to give little reports and messages back to the rest of the gang at the frontlines.

I wasn't just sitting around being a good little boy, every free moment I had was being dedicated to finding new ways to fight the Yeerks. The newfound independence I've gotten has its pros as well as its cons. Namely I've been learning more survival skills from my dad - he's in the U.S Army Rangers, so I learned a lot from him on that. He also taught me how to hunt - usually with his compound bow. But I also picked up a few things from a few books he had like the Anarchist Cookbook.

Whenever I suggested using what was in the books to Jake and the others, they'd always get so defensive - especially Cassie. I care about them, but seriously we can't hope to fight the Yeerks unless we are willing to do whatever it takes to win. The only one who seemed to agree with me was Ax, but even he would relent to Jake's decision due to him being the superior.

Now though, I was on my own. So I had the liberty to do things the way _I _wanted to, whether or not Jake and the others like it.

Though then again, that sorta got me caught in my… _current _predicament, as I was floating in limbo or wherever the hell I was.

I remember what I was doing beforehand: I got a call from the group back home that Victor Trent - aka 'Visser Three' - was using his company EGS (associated with The Sharing), to conduct some weird new Z-Space experiments - they believed it was connected to them trying to find out how Morphing works on their own without needing a morphing cube - perhaps finding a way to 'counter' its effects, force the 'Andalite Bandits' to fight in their true forms, rather than the various lethal morphs of Earth.

If we were Andalites, that wouldn't be a problem. But of course we weren't Andalites.

Since the base the research was being done was outside of their reach, they asked if I would be able to do some of my magic to take care of it with some Chee help - thankfully I wasn't alone, since Tobias and Ax were able to tag along for the trip since they didn't have _nearly _as strict schedules as they did.

It was suppose to be a relatively simple mission - the Chee agent inside the facility would smuggle in the bombs I made inside for us along with some of my extra gear, we'd sneak in nice and quiet-like as bugs, find the machine, blow it up and make our grand escape. And at first, it seemed like it was going well…

...then Visser Three showed up.

That asshole has a habit of making things more complicated than they should be.

It came down to him facing off against us, as the countdown for the bombs was already underway. But I saw a chance to distract him, so Ax and Tobias could get away. It worked. I got him away from the gang, as I headed to where the Z-space machine was located at - as the bombs finally went off.

...that was when things got… _weird_.

I was expecting a big boom - that was for sure - but then the Z-space machine started acting up all weird, acting like some sort of wormhole or black hole - sucking things inside. Visser Three was far enough away that he was able to escape the madness in his big-ass bird morph. But me in my Hyena Morph? Not so lucky… I got sucked in… and now here I was.

'_...so… am I dead?_' I thought to myself, as I looked at my arms. I was still in my casual clothes - blue jeans, a black T-shirt, shoes and socks… I figured out how to Morph clothes, unlike the rest of the gang. Sure they could do tight-fitting stuff, but i figured out the art of 'regular' clothing. I was actually inspired by Cassie's method of Morphing - only while she focuses on the 'elegant' transition of going from person-to-animal-and-back, I focused more on what I was wearing - so long as you could focus on your clothes _while _you Morph, they morph with you.

Getting a bit off track, but hey? I was in limbo - what the hell else was I going to do?

"If this is what being dead is like, being dead sucks…" He groaned.

"**Not dead… but very far away indeed…"**

The moment I I groaned. I did _not _like that asshole - sure he 'helps' us in his own way, but his whole 'cosmic balance' bullcrap really got on my nerves. What gives _him _the right to determine what's 'good' and what's 'bad'?

"**Yes… what **_**does **_**give him that right, hm?"**

And it was at that moment that I realized… that wasn't the Ellimist. Something about the voice was… different… louder… more… _insertive_. "...who is that?" I asked, vocally.

Suddenly, I was no longer in limbo - I found myself in a large, dark chamber. Illuminated by deep red lights above and below - I staggered a bit, as my feet finally found purchase on solid ground. And then I looked up.

And I saw him.

It was sitting on a throne, or it was part of the throne - it was hard to really make out, whatever it was. It looked biological, yet… mechanical at the same time. With large inhumane legs slack against the throne, but most importantly… was the eye. That single, glaring eye that stared back at me.

For a moment, I froze up - just seeing this… _thing _in front of me. It wasn't the Ellimist - that much I knew for certain. No this… this was something different. It had no mouth… and yet a loud voice reverberated within the room.

"**Greeting, Jaden… you may call me… Crayak."**

I regained my composure - standing firm as I stared back at the entity calling itself 'Crayak'. "...So… not the Ellimist, obviously…" I spoke up, "But… still someone probably with similar… abilities, huh?"

The entity seemed to chuckle - as the whole room shuddered as it did. **"Yes… our powers are… **_**comparable**_**…"** It spoke, **"But unlike the Ellimist… I am far more willing to **_**use **_**my powers for a… **_**greater good**_**."**

"Great good, huh?" I narrowed my eyes, "That could be considered a subjective term… but why am _I _here?"

"**Because I saved you,"** Crayak said, its single eye moving slightly closer to me. **"You would have been lost to eternity within Z-Space… but I took that brief moment in time to take you, before the Ellimist could intervene… so we could possibly make… a deal."**

"I'm not a fan of working with God-like entities," I deadpanned, "I didn't like working with big E, why would you be any different?"

"**Because I am blunt, just like you."** It said, **"I see the universe for what it truly is… Conflict. Everlasting conflict - a never-ending cycle of the survival of the fittest, where only the strongest will survive… the Ellimist would coddle the races of this galaxy, teaching them 'love' and 'kindness', but never showing them the harsh realities of conflict… and then they are caught woefully unprepared by those realities… just look at the Pemalites - destroyed by **_**my **_**Howlers."**

_That _bit of info caused my head to perk a bit "_Your_ Howlers?" I questioned. "You wiped out the Pemalites?"

"**I simply created the Howlers, who follow my will."** Crayak stated, **"They taught the Pemalites - and those races who knew them - a lesson they've yet to forget… a lesson I believe **_**you **_**know all too well…"**

"And what might that be?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"**Peace is an illusion, a lie, a fabrication of those in power to keep control."** Crayak continued, **"Strength is the ultimate power in the universe - for without strength, you will be crushed by those greater than you… so you must learn to become stronger still. My Howlers are as strong as they can be, the strongest in the galaxy - if not the known universe… yet even they are not enough."**

"Enough? Enough for what?"

"**Something is coming,"** Crayak said, as he stood from his mechanical throne. **"I can feel it… and so can the Ellimist, but he naively believes he and those he coddles can face this threat… but I know this danger more than he ever could. It is stronger than either of us combined… and it must be stopped."**

"...then what do you need me for?" I shrugged, "I mean… you said strength is everything, if you _and _big E can't stop whatever this is... "

"**Yes, you are… **_**weak**_**,"** Crayak said, as my brow twitched at the insult. **"But… as I have learned through my own Howlers, weak creatures can become stronger overtime… and while my Howlers are strong… they lack in… **_**individuality**_**, the capability to… **_**rationalize**_**, as you Humans call it. I called you here… to give you a job offer… an offer to help save your universe from this… **_**threat**_**."**

"How would that work?" I asked.

"**There exists other realities, other realms beyond this one."** Crayak informed, **"Ones where the laws of reality work differently… in one reality, there exists… **_**beings **_**that may be able to stem the tide in our favor… you will go to this universe, and aquire the support of these entities… and perhaps with them, we may yet survive the coming storm."**

My eyes were narrowed as I looked up at Crayak - this is why I hate entities like him or Ellimist, they 'say' there is a choice involved, but really this isn't much of a choice. If I said no, what? I'm dead - this asshole will probably send me right back into the vacuum of Z-Space and die. So it wasn't so much as me being 'offered' a job, and more like being conscripted, with the other choice being a firing squad.

"...fine, whatever." I shook my head, "If it helps Earth and my people, that's all I care about. This better not involve selling me contracts involving my soul or whatever."

The room shuddered again - as Crayak chuckled once more. **"No… no need for that,"** He said, **"I will be watching with… **_**great interest…**_**"** And with that, he blinked… and there was nothing but blankness.


	2. Chapter 1: Vox Machina

**117Jorn: Thank you all who have read this story so far and have either favorited it, or are just following it. And thank you Wolf626 for the review - I love to hear feedback, so I can ensure I am going on the right path here. **

**For the sake of being transparent, I went ahead and made a character sheet for Jaden using D&D Beyond. If I remember correctly, at the start of Critical Role everyone is around level 9-ish, so that's the level Jaden is currently at. As for what class he is, he has eight levels in Fighter, and one level in Ranger. As for his Fighter Archetype… I'll get into details with that either later this chapter, or the next chapter. But it will be explained, and I figured the path I chose will fit him best. **

**I will say that regarding his Ability Score Improvements (which he'd get at Level 4, 6 and 8 as a Fighter), he has three Feats that I sorta hinted at in the last chapter, and will hint at in this chapter. Those being: Morphing (a homebrew feat I made), Keen Mind, and Sharpshooter. Whenever I Vox Machina levels up as a whole, I'll level Jaden up and I'll keep you up-to-date as to what his stats are in the future.**

**So, without further adieu, in the infamous words of the Animorphs very own Barbarian… Let's Do it!**

* * *

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

...of course Crayak wouldn't put me somewhere I could actually _see_.

Literally, the moment I opened my eyes, I couldn't see jack. Nothing but pitch blackness, and a distant annoying dripping sound. I could feel around… and all I could feel was nothing but hard rock and dirt. So… I was underground somewhere.

'_...well, no screaming, so nowhere near a Yeerk Pool…_' I thought to myself, nodding. That was a relief in its own way - having visited that little hellhole twice in the past, I wasn't looking forward to dealing with it _again_. Still… not being able to see anything was kinda of a problem. But from my other senses, I could tell that I was underground in some sort of cave…

"...Welp, time to become batman." I muttered to myself - closing my eyes as I began to think about the best morph I had for these situations: the Brown Bat.

It had actually been a while since I've been a Bat - last time was during our first mission where we helped out the Chee recover the Pemalite Crystal from the Yeerks. That mission… went south _very _fast, but it didn't make me scared of Bats… no, it made me angry at the Chee for being Pacifist morons.

Look, I grew up in a military family - if there is one thing I sorta grew up having a distaste for, it was pacifists. I mean, I didn't _hate _them, after all I get along great with Cassie but even she knows there's a time for peace, and a time to fight. The Chee? And their makers? They got themselves _slaughtered _by the Howlers because they didn't have a mean bone in their bodies…

...maybe that mindset's the reason that Crayak guy liked me more than the others…

Shaking my head, I focused on becoming a Brown Bat. Normally for seeing in the dark I'd go Horned Owl, but this was far to dark even for them. My best bet was the Bat in these caves. It was however… _weird _morphing in pitch blackness. I couldn't actually _see _my body changing, but I could feel it - sorta. I felt a faint itching sensation as my flesh grew hair in new places, as leathery wings sprouted from my arms, and my feet became a bit more claw-like.

As soon as the Morphing was over - sight finally returned to me, as I breathed a sigh of relief. Sure it was Bat-Vision, but something was better than nothing as I finally got a good grasp of where I was. It was a cave alright - a damn big one at that, filled with stalagmites and stalactites across the floors and ceilings.

Once I got a little sense of my bearings, I flapped my wings and let out a bat-cry as I took off into the darkness. I flew for a good 30 minutes - keeping close track of my time in-morph without Ax or Tobias around to remind me of my timeframe… I suppose my sense of a keen mind came from hanging out with them so much. Sure I wasn't _as _precise as Ax was, but I could keep a good, general sense of time.

As I flew around, I could hear what sounded like a waterfall. However as I flew closer, I noticed something else… something living, moving down below. I turned my head - hearing them wasn't a problem thankfully - they were making an awfully big racket with loud clanging sounds. I flew in the direction and I what I saw was…

'_...the shit?_' I thought, as I saw what looked like a tiny woman wearing full plate mail armor as if she had came out of Lord of the Rings - holding a torch in one hand, and a mace in the other as she trudged forward. I couldn't really discern much else but… just seeing her was… _weird_.

'_...did that Crayak jackass Isekai me into a fantasy world?_' I thought to myself, as I internally sighed. '_Great… just great…_'

Honestly with nothing better to do, I decided to stick around this strange short woman - I mean, she _looked _like she could handle herself… but at the same time, she was alone in a super-dark cave so… yeah.

I'm not a damn stalker.

However, as I followed her - she must of heard my wings flapping and turned around in alarm. I acted on Bat instincs - letting the Bat do its thing, moving like a Bat. She tilted her head a bit, and smiled "Well, hello there." She said - in a soft voice… surprisingly in english.

'_Well, language barrier isn't an issue at least…_' I thought, as I tilted my head at her. She smiled at me… but my bat-eyes saw something else, behind her as some sort of… _thing _dropped down from the ceiling, emitting echolocation as well - right overtop the woman.

'_Oh shit, oh shit!_' My eyes widened as this… _thing _began moving. And on instinct I shouted out in Thought-Speak "_Look out! Above you!_"

She looked startled by the sudden voice in her head, but she also heard the creature above - and in the nick of time she raised up her metal shield. I got a better look at the creature as it gnawed at the shield - it looked _very _much like a Stalactite - probably why I didn't even notice it until it let out its own echolocation. It had a bunch of eyes all around its body in a ring, and small squid-like tentacles that were lashing out at the woman.

The woman bashed the creature away - but then it let out a hiss, and suddenly there was pitch blackness surrounding the woman. She flinched as she tried looking around. I was stunned actually - was this some sort of ability similar to how squids shoot ink?

Whatever it was, the woman was blinded as she flailed about as the creature prepared for another attack. It wacked against her, but her armor and shield seemed to hold strong. BUt she wasn't able to see it properly… but I could.

"_Its right in front of you!_" I called out, "_Three Feet, left side! Swing down and hard!_"

The woman seemed to hesitate for a moment, but complied as she swung down - cracking the creature right at the top of its… skull? Either way, she hit it once - and then followed it up with another slam on its head. Whatever this creature was, it _clearly _wasn't expecting that much fight from this short woman as it tried to crawl away in fear - but a third strike from the woman hit it in its back-side, before it crumpled to the ground - unmoving.

The woman panted a bit, as the strange darkness seemed to dissipate. She then looked around - her weapon still raised, eyes darting around. "...uh, thanks for the hand but… who are you?" She called out, "Show yourself!"

I let out the bat-equivilent to a sigh "_I'm the bat._" I said, as the woman blinked as she looked at me. "_Yeah, yeah, its weird I know… its complicated - I'm a bat, just… don't question it too hard._"

"Oh," She nodded in understanding… this actually sorta surprised me - I was more expecting her to be like 'wtf - this bat is talking to me' but… this barely even phased her? "So… you're some sort of Underdark Druid or something?"

...what the what now?

"_...um… maybe?_" I replied, very unsure about that question. "_I… look, give me a minute here… just… don't attack me please? I did kinda help you and… I'll be honest, I'm fucking lost as hell._"

The woman nodded her head "I promise, I won't attack if you don't," She said in a firm, assuring voice. "If you're a druid, you can just leave beast shape, can't you?"

...well holy shit. I blinked in surprise - beast shape? Was that what they called morphing here? Then… I wasn't the only one who could do this here?

I felt an odd sense of relief at that, as I nodded. "_Uh, yeah - just hang on._" I said. "_It'll take me a minute…_"

I landed back onto the cold ground, as I began to demorph. Now with the torch she had, I was able to discern my own transformations as I slowly began to grow back to my original size - my bat wings folding back into my own body as my form shifted bit by bit.

The woman… looked at me with a bit of concern, watching my transformation… but she kept her promise - she didn't attack me, but she was eyeing me a bit suspiciously as my demorphing finally came to its end.

"Ah… there we go…" I nodded, looking at her. "...Sorry, I was sorta trailing you for a few minutes… I sorta just got here, and I'm trying to figure out where I am and all…"

"You… just appeared here?" She asked me, raising her brow. "How? And… why is your Beast Shape so… slow and... " She seemed to hold her tongue as if wanting to say something else, before saying "...different?"

"Um… well, its… how I morph and all…" I said, scratching the back of my head… _man _it felt weird explaining Morphing like this. Spending so long keeping it a secret and all… but this woman just wasn't _nearly _as freaked out as I thought she'd be. "...I sorta got dropped off here by some… _thing _called Crayak… does that name ring any bell?"

The woman seemed to think for a moment, clutching some sort of amulet on her neck in thought. "...sorry, no I haven't." She shook her head, "Is… it some sort of Fiend?"

"...ya know, considering he looked like a big-ass demonic eye, I'd say so." I shrugged. Hey, I may be working for this guy - that didn't mean I had to worship the dude. "He just dropped me here in this… what did you call it, Underdark? And… well, now I'm trying to figure out what exactly he _wants _me to do, but… I dunno, I'm just glad not to be dead…"

I looked at her - now that I had my own eyes, I got a better look at her. Her armor was steelish grey, and had a blue scarf around her neck. And she had short, white hair and bright blue eyes. I also noticed she had pointed, almost elf-like ears to boot. "I'm… sorry, I don't think I introduced myself," I said, sticking my hand out. "Name's Jaden… Takeo." Had to come up with a new surname fast.

The woman smiled, as she stuck out her hand in kind as we shook "Pike Trickfoot - pleasure, and again, thanks for the hand there." She said, before she frowned. "So… you're lost?"

"...basically," I shrugged, chuckling sheepishly. "I… have no idea where I am, or when I am or any of that… I just know wherever I am, its dark and creepy as _fuck_."

"That's the Underdark for ya," Pike chuckled nodding as she glanced back. "Well… there's a big tunnel that way, but its a four hour hike upwards to make it back to Kraghammer… though truth be told, not sure how the Dwarves will take to a random human just walking up out of their mine tunnels."

'_...oh fuck, Dwarves?_' I thought, as I internally groaned. '_I AM in an Isekai world…_' I sighed, shaking my head. "Yeah, I'd… assume anyone wouldn't like that…" I said, "But… what are you doing down here? I mean… not to be racist but… are you a dwarf?"

Pike blinked for a moment, before she snorted out laughter "Oh-*laugh*-oh you _really _must not be from around here," She giggled, shaking her head. "Nonono, I'm a _Gnome_, not a Dwarf… yeah, sometimes we get confused, but only Gnomes have ears like these," She pointed to her pointed Spock-like ears.

"Ohhhhh," I nodded, "Gnomes, got it… yeah, not from around here… but again, why are you here if you don't mind me asking?"

"Looking for my friends," She said, glancing around. "They went on ahead of me to figure out what's been troubling the city… weird abominations have been attacking Kraghammer, so they came down here to figure out what's going on, and put a stop to it… I… was late, so I need to catch up with them."

"Ah," I nodded, "Well… I've been flying around here for the past 30 minutes, but no sign of anyone myself… just more bats and other critters…"

"...can you do that… 'morphing' thing more than once?" Pike asked.

"Um, yeah." I nodded, "Like… I can do it as many times I want."

"...what's the meanest thing you can be?" She asked, with a sly smirk.

"Ummm… well," I began, not expecting this "I can be a Hyena, a Wolf… a few smaller things… oh! And I can be a Rhino or a Mountain Lion!"

"Are you good in a fight?" Pike asked.

I smirked slightly "I've been fighting a war against giant lizards made of knives and muscle, cannibalistic worms, mind-controlling slugs, and a freak that can morph into some of the most terrifying creatures imaginable for the better part of a year," I said. "I know my way around a battle."

She gave me a bit of a quizzical glance - as if she was trying to get more insight as to what I was talking about. However she eventually nodded, smiling "Well then, stay close," She said, as she handed me her torch. "And keep your eyes peeled - the Underdark is filled with nasty surprises like that thing."

"Yeah, no kidding…" I muttered, looking at the fallen creature. "...what _is _it?"

"Darkmantles," She answered, as she gave it another kick. "Nasty creatures… hang up top like bats, and drop on people that cross under them… and they drop that aura of darkness on people to keep them blind… but it doesn't work against Bats it seems," She nodded at me again. "Again, thanks for the help."

"No problem," I shrugged, "You're the first person I've met down here, I couldn't just stand back and watch… what's this about that darkness aura? Did it shoot smoke or something?"

"No, it's magical darkness."

I _immediately _stopped in my tracks, and looked at Pike as if she had grown a second head. "Excuse me, what now?"

"You know, magical darkness?" Pike shrugged, looking back at me. "Its a spell a lot of wizards know, but its also used by some creatures…" I still had a look of disbelief on my face. "You… haven't seen magic before, have you?"

"...when you say magic, you mean like… _magic _magic?" I asked, with wide eyes. "As in… shooting fireballs, levitation… all that crazy-jazz?" Sure, I was _kinda _expecting that magic _might _be a thing if this was a fantasy-esc society but… to actually hear it so blatantly like that?

"...well yeah," Pike shrugged, as she reached up her hand, placing it upon her mace… and my jaw dropped as the mace suddenly began to glow like a glowstick. "Its not _that _complicated… but isn't your morphing thing magical?"

"...uh… I don't… _think _so?" I shrugged, "Look, I got this power when a being gave us a blue cube that gave it to us - _I'm _still trying to figure out how this stuff works… I only recently figured out how to morph without destroying my clothes in the process… aside from that, Magic where I'm from… its a myth, something that quite frankly… no one thinks is real… but its… real here?"

"As real as real can be," She smiled, "Come on, I know a guy who can explain magic _far _better than I ever could - if we find them, I'll introduce you to him… you're not afraid of… lizards or… things like them, are you?"

"Uh, no…" I said, "Why?"

"You'll see,"

"...yeah, I… guess so…" I began to say, before I saw a dim light in the distance. "Hey! Light ahead!"

Pike cancelled out her own light, as she pulled me down. I was actually caught off-guard at how strong she was as I nearly hit the ground face-first. "Sorry!" SHe whispered, as she looked up ahead. "It… looks like a campsite… but, no sign of anyone…"

"...you want me to scout ahead?" I offered, "I can go back to being a Bat again… it'll take me a minute though,"

"If you don't mind," Pike nodded, "Just be careful."

"I always am," I smirked, "Just… fair warning, its gonna look… _weird_ like last time…"

For the sake of saving you all valuable time (and you've already heard me describe morphing a Bat earlier), I was able to get back into my Brown Bat morph as I fluttered up into the air, and made a quick fly-by of the camp. It looked abandoned - I could make out a dull fire pit, but blasting my echolocation around, I didn't see anyone currently _at _the camp.

"_Coast is clear!_" I said to Pike in thought-speak. "_Whoever it belongs to, they're long gone._"

Pike nodded, as she began advancing towards the camp. However as she did - clinking and clattering all the way (good god that armor was loud) - I started hearing something else… briefly what sounded like… someone humming jazz music or something, followed by silence and then…

"Quiet! Man, what's wrong with you?!" A male voice hissed somewhere in the dark.

"Oh, it's a nervous habit!" A Second voice said, "I'm sorry!"

"With great power comes great responsibility, so shut up!"

"Its a gift I need to share it with the world!"

"Later! Save it for the Mind Flayer!"

I cursed "_Shit, Pike! Company!_" I called out in warning. "_At least two guys up ahead!_"

Pike stopped, as she readied her mace - standing in the middle of the camp. I flew up ahead, to get a better view of the two newcomers. I was able to spot them - clinging to the side of the wall was one man, seemed to be set up in a cloaked set of leather armor, and with several knives strapped to his person. ANd… oddly enough under his arm was another short person like Pike - dressed in more… _lavish _attire, and holding what looked like a guitar on his back.

"_Two of them - one tall man, and a short guy - so assuming its a Gnome_." I reported.

Glancing at Pike, I saw she had a look of confusion, muttering something under her breath. "_Sorry, I can't hear you from here - thought speak is a one-way thing,_" I replied.

"Pike?!" The man called out, causing me to do a double-take, and Pike smiled as she moved ahead.

"Hey guys!" SHe called out, rushing towards the two. "There you are!"

"Where've you been?" THe man said, as he and the Gnome man stepped out of cover fully.

"Oh man, I've had… quite a time I…" She said, becoming _far _more relaxed now. "I missed you guys terribly… a lot has happened, and I'm sure for you guy as well!"

"Not so much," The other Gnome said, shrugging. He then seemed to whisper something under his breath as he touched his ear. "You didn't have any trouble getting here, did you?"

"Oh no, just a few scuffles," She shrugged, before glancing up. "But I had a little help lately - Jaden, come on! They're friends!"

"_...okay, if you say so…_" I said as I flew back down to her level - landing next to her as the two men blinked at me.

"...you're friends with a Bat?" The Gnome man asked.

"Not exactly," Pike said, glancing at me, "Just… don't freak out, alright?"

"Freak out?" The man - who I just noticed had pointed elf-like ears - said. "Over a bat?"

"He's not really a Bat…" She said, nodding at me. "Go on, relax."

I nodded, sighing as I began to Demorph once more. And as I somewhat expected - when they saw a tiny little Bat suddenly start growing and taking on a more humanoid form… they freaked the fuck out.

"The hell is that?!" THe Gnome shouted, as the Elven man pulled out one of his daggers.

"Nonono! He's fine!" Pike shouted - standing between me and them with her shield out. "Chill guys - he's with me!"

The two men looked at Pike, then at my still bat-shaped form, but slowly becoming more human. Slowly, they relaxed a bit more as I became more and more human. Finally, I was back to myself, looking between them.

"Uh… Hi?" I said awkwardly, waving at them. "You… must be Pike's friends, right?"

"...yes," the Elven man said, looking at me suspiciously. "Uh, Pike… who is this?"

"Oh, this is Jaden!" Pike introduced, gesturing to me. "I just ran into him on my way here - helped me kill a Darkmantle, he can shapeshift like Keyleth and her beast shapes!"

"So he's a Druid?" The Gnome asked.

"Why does everyone keep calling me that?" I muttered, rubbing my forehead. "No, I'm not a druid! I'm just… a regular guy that… can turn into animals I've touched… what _is _a Druid?"

"Um, basically a wizard, but uses nature…" Pike quickly explained, "Oh, and this here is Scanlan Shorthalt, and Vax'ildan Vassar… call him Vax for short."

"Nice to meet you…" I nodded at them, "Uh, sorry for the scare… my uh… Morphing thing isn't exactly… _pretty_."

Vax seemed to look at me, then to Pike, before nodding "If Pike trusts you, I'll trust you… for now," he nodded, as he fully sheathed his blade.

"Same, but I've got my eye on you," Scanlan said, as he gave the oh-so classical 'I'm watching you' gesture, pointing to his eyes then to me.

"No problem…" I muttered, before I glanced up and blinked. "...what's that on the wall?"

Pike turned to look, as we both saw this weird looking sigil on the wall, looking oddly like the shape of a dragon. "We've been looking at that, and couldn't make heads or tails of it." Vax said, "Ever seen that before?"

"Um, no I don't think so…" Pike muttered, looking at the sigil - as she touched an amulent around her neck.

"You sure?" Vax asked, "I know it doesn't seem to involve Sarenrae, but… does it mean anything to you?"

Pike narrowed her eyes, looking up at the sigil in the wall. She ran her fingers up against the stonework, tracing the markings as she closed her eyes. I saw her amulet glow for a moment, until she let go - her eyes opening.

"It was… left here by a woman," She muttered.

"Lady Kima," Scanlan piped in, "The woman we're trying to find - oh by the way Pike, you look _fantastic_."

"I don't feel fantastic," Pike shrugged.

"Bring it in, come on," Scanlan gestured for a hug, to which Vax rolled his eyes at. Even Pike did, but smiled as she did comply. "Oh you smell a little - but I like it though! It works for you!"

I rolled my eyes at that - oh this guy reminded me of Marco right off the bat. The comedian critic, and a bit of a skirt-chaser… granted Marco wasn't _this _bad, but still…

"We're in a bit of a complicated situation," Vax spoke up, as they seperated. "A lot has happened to us… we uh… found something of a war camp down here, and there is, uh… sorta of a… I don't know what to call it, but he has a lot of these-" as he moved his hands to his face - making a very tentacle-like motion with them. "And he… speaks and lashes out through his mind, and we fought a huge force down here… and we ended up falling into a cavern down here and Keleth and my sister found… another one…" he glanced at Scanlan "What were they called again?"

"Illithids," Scanlan informed. "Yes, and we found a rogue one, and we may team up with… him or her? And go back, get revenge and maybe kick some ass in the camp."

I blinked. Did he say these things spoke telepathically?

"This just happened. He seems extremely dangerous, however, the forces we faced in the other illithid seem maybe worse. So that's where we're at." Vax said, glancing at me again. "We… sure this kid's up to it?"

"I can morph into a Rhino and fuck shit up," I said, with a bit of a confident smirk. "I've fought giant beasts that defy physics - I can handle some… tentacle-faced telepath and their lackies."

"...A Rhino _would _be helpful," Scanlan shrugged, as Vax sighed. "So welcome back Pike - and welcome new guy, hope you don't get killed."

"Thanks for the optimism…" I rolled my eyes.

"Great, let's rejoin our friends, shall we?" He said, clapping his hands together.

"Let's go kick some ass," Pike smiled, as the group marched back from where Vax and Scanlan came from - with me in tow, bringing up the rear.

They walked forward, entering what looked like some abandoned village of some kind. I didn't see anyone at first, but I heard noises coming from the largest tent that we were approaching. Scanland and Vax were first to enter, followed by Pike, and then me.

I could hear a sophisticated voice speak up saying "Ooh, that's our friend, Pike. She's a good ally. Hello, Pike!"

"Hello everyone!"

"PIKE!"

I poked my head inside, as I caught a glimpse of everyone inside as they all crowded around Pike. The first was… an utter _giant _of a man, standing about as tall - of not taller - than a Hork-Bajir, with the most ripped abs I've ever seen, clad up in fur robes, and completely bald with black tattoos on his scalp and body. And on his back was a giant, fuck-all Greataxe - he was currently hugging Pike, holding her almost like a teddy bear.

Next was another woman who looked an awful lot like Vax - hair and eyes being the same, but with more feminine features - her long, dark brown hair tied into a thick braid, with some blue feathers behind her ear. Armed with a bow and arrow, she was standing next to a big-ass Grizzly Bear that rivaled Rachel's own morph, only it was armored up.

Then there was another woman - who also looked like an elf, she fair skin and long red hair, and green eyes. She wore some sort of hand-made leather armor, and wore some sort of circlet on her head that had a pair of deer antlers adorn on them.

Next was a man who seemed to be the only 'normal' human in the tent, only he had snow white hair and piercing blue eyes. He was wearing what looked like more… Victorian-era attire, with a cloak and wearing a pair of glasses. However what really caught my eye was the large barreled weapon on his back, and the holster on his side - whoever he was, he was _really _packing the firepower.

After him, there was another figure that made me do a double-take at the… well… Dragon person. No really - for a moment I thought he was a shorter Hork-Bajir, but he had crimson red scales, wore glasses at the end of his nose and had rather elegant-looking robes.

And finally, I noticed sitting in the corner was some… _thing_. It looked human at first, but as I saw it in the light it clearly wasn't - with a tentacle face, purplish skin and dark eyes. It sat, almost awkwardly, at the far end of the tent - just looking at us as we approached. He didn't say a word, he just… watched.

I was so… enthralled by the odd person, I almost didn't hear Pike say "Oh, and this is Jaden! Say hello!"

Hearing my name, I stood up a bit straighter, gulping as all eyes suddenly fell upon me. "Umm… hey," I waved, kinda awkwardly. "You… must be Pike's friends…"

"Greetings!" The Dragon-man spoke up first, striding towards me as he reached out his hand for a shake. "I'm Tiberius Stormwind! I'm from Draconia!"

"Uh, nice to meet you…" I nodded, as I shook the… Dragon's hand. "Are… you some sort of um… Dragon or something?"

"Oh! You've never seen a Dragonborn before?" Tiberius asked, looking a bit surprised, "Ah, I suppose we aren't that common - but no, while we have a relation, I am not a Dragon… at least not entirely."

"I… see…" I said, before I felt breath up against my face… and turned to see the giant grizzly bear staring at me, inches from my face.

...damn that is one stealthy bear…

"Um… hi…" I whispered to the bear… now that I got a closer look at it, I noticed that - unlike Rachel's morphs, it looked far more well-groomed, like someone had taken good care of him. I stared at the Bear, as it stared back at me for a few solid seconds…

...and then it licked me like a dog.

"Okay, Trinket likes you, so you're okay." The dark-haired elven woman said, smiling slightly. "I'm Vex'ahlia, and that's Trinket… Adorable, isn't he?"

"...I'd be inclined to agree," Jaden nodded, as i gently began to pet the giant creature… who acted more like a big puppy dog than a bear. He seemed to approve as he nuzzled into me more. "Whoa, hey now - personal space!"

"Nice to meet you!" The red-haired elf woman spoke up, excitedly. "I'm Keyleth, of the Air Ashari! I… don't remember you from Kraghammer, are you from Kraghammer?"

"Uh, no…" I shook my head, "I'm… from a place that's probably a _loooong_ way from here…" I then saw the shadow over me… and I glanced up at the giant hulking form of the man I saw before, smirking at me.

"'Ello there," He spoke, with a thick accent that almost sounded… russian? German? I couldn't really tell. "Name's Grog Strongjaw! If you're a friend of Pike, you're a friend of Vox Machina!"

"Uh, thanks…" I nodded, "You… are fucking huge, you know that?"

Grog let out a joyful laugh "Yeah, I get that a lot!" He laughed, slapping me in the back… and I nearly tumbled on the ground.

"You'll have to excuse Grog," the human man said, catching me before I fell completely. "He's the most… _blunt _of us…"

"I noticed… thanks," I nodded, looking at him. "And… you must be…?"

"Percival Fredrickstein von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III," He intoruced, with a hand out - which I shook. "Though… Percy for short is fine."

"Yeah, that's a… mouth-full of a name," I nodded, before I glanced at his weapons. "...is that a Pepperbox?"

Percy actually blinked at that, looking at me incredulously. "You… you know what this is?" He asked, pulling out the weapon in question.

"Uh yeah, its a… primitive version of firearms from where I'm from," I said, "Its… basically a old-timey revolver… but the craftsmanship makes it look a bit more modern than the ones I've seen… and that rifle on your back must be some sort of sniper rifle, right?"

"...yes," Percy nodded, looking a bit more intrigued by me. "Bad News, but… I just made her a little while ago… where are you from? And how did you get down here in the Underdark?"

"...well, as odd as it sounds…" I sighed "I was sorta… teleported here I guess? By some sort of god-like being… does the name Crayak mean anything-"

Suddenly there was a loud shrieking sound, as I winced as I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head - followed by a voice.

"_The All-Seeing Destroyer?!_" THe voice echoed, as the others flinched as the weird tentacle-beard creature rose up, glaring at me. "_How do you know its name?!_"

"Owowowowow!" I hissed, as I clutched my head - it felt like getting the world's worst case of brain freeze, like a stabbing sensation into my skull. "G-Get… Get out of… my... h-head!"

"Clarota! Stop it!" Percy hissed, pointing his Pepperbox at the creature, the others also looking as if they were about to start a fight with the creature. It glanced at them all at once… and suddenly the pain stopped. I panted, down to my hands and knees as I tried to recover from the weird psychic assault on me.

"Are you okay?" Pike asked, rushing over to my side. "Are you hurt?"

"I… I think so…" I said, rubbing my head. "Shit… ow… the _HELL_ was that?!"

"What was that about?" Vax demanded, looking at Clarota.

"_He spoke of the name of the All-seeing Destroyer!_" The creature hissed, using some form of… imposing thought-speak that echoed in the mind. "_A being of pure destruction and conquest! The Illithid know of him - anyone who speaks of him are enemies to all!_"

"Look squid-face, I barely even _know _what Crayak is," I growled, glaring at the 'Illithid'. "He just sent me here to do… something involving powerful beings, I don't know - and I don't care. I don't trust… _things _like him, her, or it! He sent me here, but like hell I'm going to just do his bidding just because he saved my ass… and you'd be wise to stay the _fuck _out of my head!"

The Illithid - Clarota - continued to glare at me for a moment. I could swear I could feel its… presence trying to get into my head, but I tried to focus - focus on keeping it out as best I could. It then leaned back - as I felt the presence leave my mind. "_Be wary of this one_," He said, "_An agent of the All-Seeing, willing or not, is a dangerous individual to have… but if he will help free my people… then I will… _concede…" With that, Clarota slinked back into his corner.

"...for the record, he's not one of my friends," Pike said apologetically, "He's new to me too…" the elven girl, Keyleth tapped Pike on her shoulder, dragging her out of the tent for a bit.

"So…" Vex said, as she and Trinket sat next to me. "How are you in a fight, kid?"

I rolled my eyes a bit at the jab "Well… I can morph into different animals, I'm told your friend Keyleth can do it to, but… mine's apparently different in how it works… biggest thing I can morph into right now is a Rhino, though I can also be a bat, a Mountain Lion… different types of birds, bugs… I can pretty much be anything so long as I can touch it first, then I can acquire its…" I was about to say DNA but I wasn't sure if they would understand that term "...essence, I suppose you could call it…"

"...could you turn into Trinket?" She asked, glancing at the Bear in question.

"...yeah, I probably could." I nodded, "I mean… if you let me, he is your... " I glanced at the Bear. "...I don't wanna say pet, so… family member?"

"Basically," She smirked a bit, nodding. "And sure - show me how your power is so different…" she glanced down at my arm. "...nice tattoo by the way."

"Tatoo?" I raised my brow "I don't have…" I glanced at my arm and I blinked as I rose it up. I know I never got a Tattoo in my life - and even if I _did _get one, if I morphed there is a good chance it would vanish… but there, right on my wrist of my right hand was a series of tattoo-like markings. It didn't look consistent - just a bunch of weird markings. But there it was. "...the fuck…? I… I never had these before!"

"Hmm…" Vex hummed, "Tiberius! What do you make of these?"

"Oh! Hrm, one second…" Tiberius wandered over, "What sems to be-" he looked at my wrist, and his draconic eyes widened "-by Bahamut… is that…" he suddenly grabbed my hand, yanking me forward.

"Ow!"

"Sorry! I just… I have to see…" He inspected my hand further. "...fascinating... I never though I'd see one…"

"...what is it?" I asked, "Is it… dangerous or something?" I was beginning to fear that bastard Carayak branded me or some stupid shit like that.

"Nonono, the opposite in fact!" He said, "This… this is a Dragonmark!"

"...a what now?" I asked, tilting my head.

"Its… a long-held belief in Draconia, specifically with the Draconic Prophecy," He began, "Long ago, there were families who possessed these marks, were physical manifestations within the Prophecy. They are more intricate than a birthmark and more distinct than a tattoo…. There use to be thirteen families which bore these marks, but according to my research, these families died out ages ago… sometime beings with these marks appear from time to time… but to actually see one…" He quickly pulled out a book from a bag… the book _obviously _looking bigger than the bag it came out of. "Let me see…. Ah! Here - this…" He showed me a picture - which bore a mark very similar to the one on my wrist. "It appears you have the Mark of Handling!"

"...and that means…?" I asked, glancing around.

"Ah, according to legend, those with these marks could care for and even control animals!" The Dragonborn explained.

"...Oh," I blinked, as I looked at the Dragonmark. "...that… doesn't feel like something that… Crayak guy would give me… or does it?" I shrugged "I dunno, I only just met the… whatever the hell he was."

"Clarota," Vax looked at the creature. "What do you know of this... Crayak?"

"I'd like to know too," I nodded, "I only just met the dude..."

Clarota's tentacles retracted a bit "The destroyer is an entity... from another universe," he said, "His origins are unknown... only that he travels from one universe to the next, looking for the perfect life forms to serve him, and extinguish all others. For him, the concept of... Survival of the Fittest is law. Only the strong survive, and the weak die."

I recalled when Crayak said he and the Howlers killed the Chee, as I nodded. "He said as much to me..." I nodded, "His howlers slaughtered an entire race of pacifists... he doesn't exactly come off as being... 'good'."

"Does he have any enemies?" Keyleth asked.

"Yes," The Mind Flayer nodded, "The All-Creator... Ellimist."

"Oh, him..." I rolled my eyes. "Yeah... met him too... didn't like him either."

"Why's that?" Pike asked.

"Because he's vague and manipulative," I deadpanned, "He's never up front with us, and apparently he is all-knowing, all-powerful and all-seeing - and that on its own is something I don't like. He's helped my friends before, sure, but I have no way of knowing if the end he's looking for benefits us, or him."

"I'd have to agree with you on that," Percy nodded.

"He gets it!" I pointed to the man, nodding before I sighed. "Look, I don't know jack about either of these guys, but right now I think ya'll have more... pressing issues from what I understand."

"He's right... Clarota?" Vax spoke up, looking at the Squid-faced… person. "Can you help us understand your kind? Your history? How you've come to be here and who this individual is that is fucking with your shit?"

Clarota's eyes narrowed, and I could just feel the general mood and energy of the inside of the tent grow dark. It grew mildly tense, and suddenly I felt the presense - its voice once again filling my mind… only a _bit _less invasive as it was before.

"_Seven years since I discovered my curse._" It began, "_My form was struck with the brand of the Arcane. And these foul arts proved difficult to conceal. My brethren could sense my impurity, my deviation, and cast me out. I was severed from the Elder Brain. And chased on threat of death, should I return._"

'_So he's an outcast?_' I thought to myself, as I tried to gauge this creature's… mood I suppose… which was _very _difficult given how his face was more like a Squid than a human.

"_I wandered these tunnels in squalor, feeding on what paltry filth I could ensnare, and fleeing from the ones I could not face alone. In my wandering, I discovered a duergar stronghold, with a magma pool, and it proved to be a decent source of sustenance for some time. Paying off the occasional straggler. Suddenly a great battle took place. It appeared something had sieged the stronghold. Reading the surface thoughts of the deep dwarves I encountered in the following weeks, I found a shift of power. Whatever had taken this hold had now demanded fealty of them. And they accepted when faced with annihilation._"

"What's a Duregar?" I whispered to Percy.

"Grey Dwarves - they're evil, usually." He whispered back.

"...a bit black and white, but okay," I shrugged as Clarota continued.

"_This entity that took the duergar by force, they called K'varn. I caught no sight of it. But the fear I could sense, from within these doors were so primal, so great, that I knew to keep a distance to be safe. But four months ago one of my estranged people, was captured by these ash-skins, and brought within the obsidian walls, for what I assumed was interrogation. Long after, the bulk of the Duergar people marched in packs through the long, deep tunnels that led to my people's colony and attacked._"

"_Strangely, before much bloodshed could occur, which I only assume was the next step in this onslaught, the fighting stopped. And the colony allowed the ash skins to waltz directly into the temple, unharmed, unchallenged, where our Elder Brain resides. It wasn't until after discovering whoever this K'varn is, they themselves infiltrated the temple, and somehow took the Elder Brain under their own control. I watched as my people had their will robbed of them. And they took the will of all the others that lived and breathed in these tunnels._"

As he spoke of his people's will being robbed of them… I couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for Clarota, even if only a small bit. It felt… eerily similar to what became those controlled by Yeerks, but on a more fundimental level. You still technically would have your free will as a Controller, but unable to do anything with it as the Yeerk would hijack your body. This… it seemed more like this K'Varn being was turning these Illithids into nothing more than mindless zombies.

"_Now, a terrible army is forged of both factions. And they walk under the banner of this K'varn. Since this, I've fled back to the higher tunnels, and scrounged for materials so I could shield myself from the iron grip influence of the now enslaved Elder Brain. It took me weeks. But I'm confident I'm safe from its influence. For now._"

"Is that the thing that you wear upon your head?" Percy asked, pointing to the strange helmet Clarota wore - which I caught a better glipse at as the squid-faced being pulled its hood back - revealing the haphazard, metallic cluster of patches of metal and iron, with a dull blue glow to it.

"_Yes_," He said, as he reache dup and ran his fingers along it. "_This I feel can protect me. But I think…I think there is a way to change the tides of this circumstance, I feel that if I could somehow free my people from the influence of K'varn, release its hold on the hive mind, my people would allow me to rejoin the colony. To be one again with my family. My brethren._"

I sat silently, as the others all began asking the creature questions, and Clarota answered - and from what I could gather, these 'Mind Flayers' operated as a hive mind, with the Elder Brain basically being their equivalent to a queen bee or termite. Unfortunately according to Clarota, he couldn't build any extra helmets like his - citing it'd take weeks they may not have if they wanted to save this 'Kima' person.

Also, apparently they can read minds - which I sorta figured given how Clarota could speak, but so long as we avoided eye-contact we… _should _be fine. And Clarota also promised that his people didn't want to draw attention to themselves, so if they are freed of K'varn, they will not pose a danger to the city of Kraghammer the party came from.

I tried my best to try and gauge this things mindset. From the way he… "spoke" it felt like he was speaking mostly out of desperation and intent, like he has no other option. He seemed genuine… if not a bit on the koo-koo side, thought from what I've heard he's been on his own for a long time… if CastAway had taught me anything, when you're solo for so long you stand acting… _weird_.

...well at least Clarota hasn't found a vollyball and shouting 'Wilson' at least.

"I think we do understand your desires though, and we can align ours with yours." Vax spoke up, "So let us speak of specifics, Clarota."

"Strategy." Scanlan said, as Vax nodded. "Strategy."

"Number one, that assortment of dwarves and some of your friends and ogres over there on the other side of the chasm." The Gnome said, "Is that something that we need to face headlong, or can we maybe surpass them, trying to find K'varn, or this temple that you speak of."

"_We may if you wish._" Clarota said, "_Their stronghold is far below. The magma leads the way. However, if I know what I've seen, the general resides in that camp. I know no way within the stronghold, without the brunt of their army. Perhaps the general can be pried for information. If you bring him to me._"

"Snatch and grab," I nodded, "Me and my old friends did that once… didn't end all that well,"

"Why's that?" Tiberius asked.

"We had to sneak into a building to grab a crystal," I said, regailing our first mission with the Chee. "The room was light-senitive and lined with trip wires, so we couldn't just walk in - and the floors were also sensitive to pressure. So we all morphed into Bats to get in without needing light - sneaking _in _was the easy part…" I then shook my head "...getting out was the hard part, because we realized _then _that we'd need to hold the stupid thing in our mouths, which means we couldn't use the Bat's echolocation with that, so we were forced to fight out way out... "

That was an… _extremely _brutal fight. After all the battles I've been in with Jake and the others… that was hands-down the closest we've ever been to being killed. Closer than being abducted to the Pool Ship, our second infiltration of the Yeerk Pool, the Log Cabin incident… even our excursion into the Amazon. I remember going Hyena, and damn near having my head chopped off.

I subbed my neck, faintly remembering where the Hork Bajir blades hit me in my morph. "...it did not end very well…" I shook my head. "It was dumb luck that we survived that... if we're going to get the intel we need on this stronghold, we'd be better off going to him and interrogating him in the camp, rather than trying to bring him back here... " I glanced around. "Unless any of you guys know a way to put everyone in that camp go to sleep."

"Well, we do have the sleep spell, but…" Tiberius shook his head. "It… doesn't work for _that _many people… and they also know we are here, so they'll be more alert now than they were before."

"That's right," Vax nodded, "Clarota's kin, this general and his forces are aware of at least three of us. Our Dragonborn friend, the singer over there, and myself."

"I don't think he knows about me." Scanlan said, with a smirk.

Vax rose his brow, before his eyes widened as he snapped his fingers. "No, you were invisible!" He nodded.

"I don't even know if he saw me." Tiberius shrugged. "He saw my funny cards."

"True, it could be just me then." Vax nodded, deep in thought.

"So… we may still have a sense of surprise then," I nodded with him, "What do we know about this place's layout? How many of these… Duergar, Mind Flayers and… Ogres are in this camp?"

"A lot less now, after our first attack." Tiberius chuckled, as he casted what I assumed was a spell that cleaned up Pike and her armor. "A little illusion tricked some of them off to fall over the cliff before they wised up… but there are still a large number left."

"How do you think your kin will react to that?" Vax asked. "What will their response be if they know that outsiders have come? If they've seen just me at this moment, plus a few illusions."

"_They will be prepared._" Clarota answered, "_So you must find another way in. You must think how to not be seen._"

"Well… since I'm the new guy here, what all _can _ya'll do?" I asked, looking around. "I mean… Pike gave me a brief explanation, but… some clarification would be nice if you don't mind."

"Uh, I hit things," Grog said, hoisting his Axe. "Like… really hard."

"...I know someone back home who'd really like you," I chuckled a bit.

"I am a Sorcerer of Draconia!" Tiberius informed, "With the blood of my Draconic ancestry withn my veins, I have many spells to call upon!"

"Okay, magic man then…" I glanced to Keyleth. "I… get your a Druid, but… there aren't many trees down here… you said you can become animals, right?"

"Yes!" Keyleth odded, "I can only do it twice though… or become an Elemental… how many times can you do it?"

I shrugged "I dunno… I mean…" I counted on my fingers, trying to recall whenever I morphed the most times in one day. "During the infiltration mission I told ya about, I had to morph three times in the span of hours, but it takes a minute to Morph in and out… but if I morph after a big fight it can get rather exhausting… and I can't stay in morph for more than two hours."

"Oh, so you change back afterwards?" Keleth asked.

"No, or I'll be trapped in that morph forever," I said, shaking my head. "I already had one firend get trapped… as a Red-Tailed Hawk. He's fine, but… I'd rather not get trapped being a Rhino, Hyena or a House Fly."

Keyleth winced a bit as she nodded "Okay, good to know." She said, "Sorry…"

"You didn't know, best I tell you of what I can do right off the bat," I shrugged, "So… what else can you do, miss Keyleth?"

"Just Keyleth, and I know magic like Scanlan and Tiberius," She said, "I know a few spells that should help us."

"Ah, so… magic man as well?" I asked, looking at Scanlan.

"My music is magical," He said smirking, as he blew on his flute briefly… as a little illusion sparked off as a result.

"...oookkaaayyyy…" I muttered, before I looked to Percy. "So… Gunner, right?"

"Gunner?" Percy rose his brow, before looking at his Pepperbox. "Ah, yes - I suppose you could say that… is that what they call people with guns where you're from?"

"Among other things," I shrugged, "But hey - simple and sweet, I like that." I then looked to Pike. "So… I know you use Magic, but… how does yours work?"

"Oh, well I'm a Cleric to Sarenrae, so I get my powers from her." She answered, as she pulled out her amulet.

"...Cleric as in like… religious people?" I asked, with a skeptical brow raised.

"Well yes…" She tilted her head. "Do you… not have Clerics where you're from?'

"...technically yes, but… they can't do magic," I shrugged, "In fact… Magic itself really doesn't exist back home, its all technology or your own wit and grit. People who _try _to use magic they… well... " I scratched the back of my head "...laughing stocks… and no gods either… the closest we have are that Crayak guy I mentioned, and some other being called Ellimist, but…" I shrugged "They don't do things as… _directly _as you seem to… so your god just… _give _you those powers?"

"So long as I pray to her, and follow her commandments," Pike nodded, smiling. "Sarenrae is the Goddess of Redemption, Healing and Temperance, so usually I'm keeping these guys alive… expecially this one," she playfully nudged Grog in the shin.

"...that is _very _good to know…" I muttered, as I spared a moment thinking on that… '_Gods are more real here then…_' I thought, '_Could… they be the ones Crayak was talking about?_'

Putting that thought aside for now, I turned to Vex and Vax. "So, Vax and Vex-"

"No, _he's _Vax, I'm Vex." Vex said, pointing to her brother.

"Right, sorry - very similar names," I apologized, "So… you both come off as being pretty… _stealthy_."

Vax smirked slightly with a nod, and Vex shrugged "We get around," she said, as she pulled out her bow. "And I'm the best shot with an arrow you'll ever meet."

"...I may challenge you on that one," I smirked at her. "I'm not bad with a bow myself."

"Oh are you now?" Vex asked, as she gained a predatory smirk.

"My dad was in the military, so we'd go hunting a lot," I said, "I know how to use guns, but I was more comfortable with bows and crossbow's."

"Hm… how about a little challenge, hm?" She asked, "Whoever gets the highest kills with arrows wins?"

"...I don't have one on me, unfortunately…" I said, gesturing to myself with no weapons to speak of.

"Grog, the bag." Vex snapped her fingers. "Find us some things for our new friend here, would you?"

"Uh, right!" Grog said, as he began digging into the bag… which was deceptively… _big _it seemed. "Let's see… oh! I just got these from the Dwarves!" He pulled out a decently-sized crossbow, putting it on the ground. "And uh… some bolts…" he dumped out about 20 bolts next to it. "And… a bunch of war picks and javelins but…" he looked at me, sizing me up before shaking his head. "Nah, doesn't look like your thing."

"...yeah, probably not…" I nodded, as I picked up the crossbow and the bolts. It was a bit heavy, and the proportions were a bit off - clearly meant for someone smaller than I was. But at the very least it was manageable, and the design was easy enough for me to follow.

"Your not exactly wearing much armor though…" Vex hummed, before glancing at Vax. "You just switched your old armor for that new one you took from the dead Dwarf, don't you?"

Vax looked at me, as if trying to gauge my height… we actually looked to be about the same hight oddly enough. "Hm… one second." He said as he stepped outside for a moment. Shortly after, he came back - carrying what looked like some sort of set of dark studded leather armor. "Here, try this on… it doesn't smell nice, but its better than nothing."

He tossed the armor to me, and I gave it a look-over. Yeah, it was… pretty plain looking, but it felt sturdy enough - no different than what I'd wear if I went hunting with my dad. "Well, as good as anything…" I muttered, as I began pulling it on over myself. Overall it fit pretty well… a bit tight in the chest area, but I've had hand-me-downs that were tighter.

"Like a glove," Scanlan smirked, "So, you can turn into animals and shoot things… but how good are you up close and personal when you're not an animal?"

"I mean, I can fight hand-to-hand," I said, "And I'm good with a knife… I took up fencing when I was younger, but I was… eeh," I gave the symbol of 'so-and-so' with my hands.

"Here," Vax tossed me a plain-looking steel dagger. "Its not fancy, but its better than dealing with these things with your bare hands… if you're gonna help us, your gonna have to be able to look after yourself. We're not going to save your ass everytime your in trouble, alright?"

"Of course," I nodded, as I put my newly acquired dagger away in a holster on the armor.

"All right, so let's review our options, shall we?" Vax spoke up, looking at everyone, before focusing on Clarota. "Can I assume that you would have already given us any advice by now if you knew a way? Are we stuck with our own resources?"

"_I've only watched from a distance._" It said. "_Getting too close was too dangerous. I only read surface thoughts. If I were seen, I would be nothing, I would be destroyed._"

"So no back doors, no secret entrances that you know of, into the camp, anywhere near this general?"

"_None._"

"Fuck." He cursed.

"Do we have like a general layout?" I asked, "Like… do we have any idea where this other… Illithid is, along with whoever else is commanding the Duragar here?"

"I was in there," Scanlan said, "There is one big tent in the middle of it all… but there are also prisoner pens… and from the sounds of it, nothing pretty's happening in there either."

"What routes do we have?" I asked, as I used the dagger Vax gave me to begin carving a crude drawing of what I assumed the camp looked like.

"There was a bridge, but the Duregar cut it down," Vax informed, as he contributed to the map - making a chasm, and indicating where we were. "There are some rock formations we could use for cover, but by now they're probably watching our side pretty closely… we _could _still get over with the flying carpet."

"The _WHAT_?!" I shouted, looking at him as if he had grown a second head.

"Well, technically, its not ours," Grog said, as Vex swatted him on his shoulder "Ow!"

"Grog!"

"...it isn't though… its… its Allura's..." He muttered.

"...no idea who that is, but… okay, we have aerial transport." I nodded, as I processed that _flying carpets _were a thing apparently. "So… they know we're coming… but they might not be expecting us to be coming in from the air so soon… anything else?"

"In the cavern, I saw some creatures under the water, snatching bodies as they fell." Scanlan informed, glancing at Clarota "Are those anything that we could use, or should we just avoid them?"

Clarota actually let out an audible hiss at the mentioning of this creature "_No, avoid. That creature is older than all of us. It resides there, an ancient mind. One that should be kept at bay. An aboleth._"

"...a what?" I asked, glancing around.

"Big tentacle monster," Grog answered, "We fought on before,"

"And we have enough problems as is to go tangling with a second one…" Vax muttered.

"Okay… so far, the plan I'm seeing is we fly over via your… magic carpet," I said, letting out a brief sigh. "Try and stay stealthy… and then find the Headquarters of the camp, find the general, and have squid-lips over there poke around his mind for the intel we need…. Anything else?"

"I think I know where we need to go…" Pike spoke up, as all eyes suddenly turned to her.

"Pardon?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"I… have an idea," She said, "Well I just– I don't know if I should be talking about this in front of him…" she glanced at Clarota.

"Clarota is totally fine to talk in front of." Tiberius vouched. "He's amazing!"

"Well… alright…" Pike sighed, "I… had a vision… In this vision, I was pulled down toward the mines. Into the tunnels, below where the dwarves were working. Past the goblinoid creatures, and past a great underground lake. Past a jagged onyx colored fortress, framed in molten rock. Past a field of broken glass and bone. Have you seen any of this?"

"We haven't been there yet." Grog muttered.

"No, we haven't." Keyleth shook her head.

"The last thing we've seen is the lake, and we didn't go too close to it, because a couple of ogres fell in from above, and they disappeared like something grabbed them." Vax explained.

"...Okay, I'm new to the game, and I'm just gonna say it now," I said, raising my hands. "...I do _not _want to fight a _giant _mind-controlling tentacle monster, that's way too many unknowns for me… personally, I am more in favor of tackling the Duergar camp with a stealth attack."

I began drawing in my carving, with an arrow representing us. "We use your carpet to move as close to the ceiling as possible - out of sight and mind of the Duergar below." I began, "Then, you Scanlan point out the place where the Illithid and the General are housed from above. We descend slowly, land on the roof of this building, and we fan out and go door-to-door if we have too. Find them, kill the Mind Flayer, capture the General, and interrogate him before we draw too much attention to ourselves."

"That could work…" Vax muttered, "But we still need a counter to the Mind Flayer's abilities… I nearly fell last time…"

"I have a Ring of Mind Shield," Scanlan said, holding up a ring on his finger. "Clarota, would that help?"

"_It may. If it gives you resistance to psionic influence, it would be of aid, yes._"

"What about the Duergar themselves?" I asked, "Any weaknesses of theirs we should be aware of?"

"_Having spent to much time here in the darkness, their eyes have become… _sensitive _to bright lights of the surface,_" Clarota informed.

"Daylight," Keyleth raised her hand. "I have that spell!"

"Oh, Light!" Tiberius said, snapping his fingers as a ball of light appeared in his hand - causing all of us to wince at the sudden brightness.

"Ow!" I cursed, "Warning would be nice!"

"Oh, sorry…" The Dragonborn killed the light. "But yes, we have spells that generate bright lights that could daze them, or make it harder for them to hit us."

"Okay… so… you can turn invisible," I pointed to Scanlan. "And you have that ring that protects your mind, so you have the best chance of sneaking past this thing… we could sneak in from above, you go in first, find the mind flayer, and do… _something _to blind him or… something to distract him. When you do, we all barge in and start kicking ass and taking names."

"...does anyone know what time it is?" Keyleth asked, as she yawned a bit. "I'm… feeling a bit nappy…"

"...well, its been a few hours since _I've _been here," I shrugged, "I'm good at telling time, but right now I have no idea if its daytime or night or whatever."

"_If you need rest, then rest._" Clarota said. "_Time of day has no bearing down here._"

"I have to rest," Keyleth glanced at Pike, "I'm gonna read up on this _Daylight _spell, so that you and me can both cast it."

"Alright," Vax nodded, "We rest up, heal up… and when we wake up… we strike."

As everyone went about doing their own thing to rest, I stood up as I glanced forward - towards the direction where the light seemed to be coming from up ahead.

Well, there I was. Somewhere in the deepest, darkest pits of this new world I've stumbled across - working with a bunch of fantasy races, trying to attack an evil dwarf base, led by a mind-controlling squid person trying to rescue a hobbit.

...as Marco would've said, this was 100%, bonafide Insanity.

And I'd be inclined to agree this time.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! Please review so I can make better chapters in the future. **

**I tried to keep the spoken lines and actions of the actual characters of CR as accurate as possible, but I of course had to condense a few things for the sake of keeping this chapter from getting to long - plus to omit some overt references to Earth made by the players. **

**Hopefully future chapters will be better, and if need be I can go back to this chapter and make edits if you guys believe I need to. **


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